Sunday, March 25, 2012

Let's Be Honest, George Zimmerman Killed Trayvon Martin Because Black People are Scary

My black people. It's been a while since we have chatted about the invisible knapsack of black privilege in the Age of Obama. Tragically, the killing of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman demands that we black folks engage in some "real talk" (as I like to say) about our special role in American society.

During the last week or so, I have spent a good amount of time listening to white folks talk about the shooting of Trayvon Martin. I have talked to friends, been invisible as I sat next to white people at bars and cafes, and eavesdropped on conversations while riding on the bus. Of course, I have watched Fox News and lurked on Right-wing websites to get a fair sense of "real America's" collective pulse on this issue. I truly care about white people. I am their best friend because I always tell them the truth.

After doing all of this research, I have come to a conclusion that may be a bit upsetting to some of you: black people are scary. In fact, I have come to realize that as a black man, I am a member of a group that scares white people more than any other in America.

I think we should own this fact. Could it be that the disproportionate coverage we are blessed with by the news media has convinced white America that we are a threat to them? Always suspicious, dangerous, and suspect? Is this fear a result of a deeply held--an almost primordial belief that still lurks in the collective subconscious and racial id of Whiteness--that black men are "naturally" more vibrant, masculine, dynamic, virile, and athletic than white men?

Who knows from where this fear flows, and our natural ability to frighten white people comes. As black men we are left to deal with the consequences; the mysterious ways of (some) white people are not ours to divine or understand.

However, I am sure of one thing: regardless of how we may be dressed, many white people find us scary.

It could be our cool pose, energy, or mere fact of existence that scares some white people. Black men are so scary, that even when wearing suits in order to mute the power of our habitus, we are subject to extra precautions and security measures by the police, as well as individuals like George Zimmerman who have nominated themselves the "protectors" of their communities. Ironically, for some white people there is nothing more terrifying than a dignified, intelligent, confident, attractive, and brilliant black man wearing a fine and tailored suit.

Given these facts, it is only reasonable to know that a hoodie would frighten White People--and those who think like them--such as George Zimmerman. In all, common sense dictates that people wearing hoods cannot help but be anything but terrifying.

One of our unique privileges in the United States is that we are forced into adulthood early; black people are spared the luxury of a purely innocent childhood. At an early age, we are made aware of the realities of race, "niggerized," and forced to understand what it means to be a problem.

These are necessary life and survival skills in America, even one that is post civil rights, and where a black man is President. This reality holds for both black girls and black boys. However, it is especially true for the latter, lest they end up dead like Trayvon Martin.

In her essential book Playing in the Dark, Toni Morrison suggested that Whiteness as a color, abstraction, symbol (and indeed a "race" of people), has not been associated with purity, justness, and comfort by most people around the world.

Given the facts of European colonialism, imperialism, the Transatlantic slave trade, and other assorted barbarisms, white people have wrought terror and destruction around the globe. In practice, the "White Man's Burden" was a cruel contradiction in terms. Morrison's deconstruction of Whiteness, and how its owners have created a self-validating and benign sense of self, is spot on in many ways. But however trenchant her analysis may be, Morrison overlooks our unique and singular ability to frighten white people.

In the minds of white people (even those white people who are armed with guns), blacks have the magical ability to transform harmless objects into deadly weapons. So afraid they are of this power, that white police (and others) actually believe that candy bars, house keys, wallets, cell phones, and other objects are capable of lethal force when held in our hands.

Black people are also uppity troublemakers. We make a habit of going where we are not wanted, and of appearing in the most surprising places. During our centuries of bondage, black people absconded, killed overseers, and searched out their kin. The South would witness hundreds of slave rebellions during which African Americans fought a white supremacist military state and the overwhelming force it possessed. Blacks fought and served in America's wars, dying by the tens of thousands, even when the country treated us as second class citizens.

As more evidence of our willful natures, African Americans earned jobs and positions in industries, universities, colleges, and offices where the vast majority of rank and file whites resented and resisted our presence. In the year 2012, some black people have the authority to tell white people what to do on a daily basis; one black man was even arrogant enough to run for the Presidency of the United States of America and to win. What nerve!

Blacks migrated by the millions from the South to escape Jim and Jane Crow, leaving everything behind, in order to seek out freedom and opportunity elsewhere. We dared to achieve and succeed. Black people had to be at least twice as good to get half as far as the average white person.

How can a people with that level of hardheadedness, drive, and determination not scare those Americans who were born into racial privilege?

Black people have given whites a gift: what is a sense of cohesion, community, and meaning. There would be no "white people" if there were no "blacks." As Ralph Ellison famously observed, the first word the European immigrant learned upon arrival in America was "nigger." This gave him or her an automatic foot in the door of white American belonging.

Those Europeans, and especially those who we now know as "white ethnics," had to come to America and take slaves, kill the red man, and exploit the yellow man, in order to no longer be called Irish, Norwegian, German, Dutch, Polish, Italian, or Greek. This is the odd and synthetic mix of loathing, fear, and need that creates the ties which bind together White racial identity. To be "white" is to be anything but "black." Most importantly, Whiteness is a identity defined in juxtaposition to blackness.

What would America be like without us?

It would certainly be a less culturally vibrant, interesting, and democratic place. But in our absence, Whiteness would have to create new "black" people. Why? white people would eventually realize that being "White" is a lie, and all of the prejudices, stereotypes, and insecurities that are transferred onto black people would have to be processed elsewhere so that the collective White psyche could remain intact.

Empathy matters. As we think through why black people are existentially and perpetually scary to many white folks, we should also take an accounting of the White Soul. Could this fear be a manifestation of something pathological and unhinged? Could there be something amiss in the heart of Whiteness?

White people have witnessed many radical changes in the racial order of this country. Black people went from being property to citizens; from the periphery of America, to the center of its life and culture. Because of demographic changes, white people will no longer be the majority group in America by the year 2050. There is even a black man and his family living in the White House.

One of the great ironies of the post racial era, is that a white America which spent many years denying the very existence of racism against people of colr, has now discovered it for themselves, as conservatives and Right-wing reactionaries boohoo and fret over "reverse discrimination" and how "white people" are "oppressed" in the year 2012.

Could it be that many white folks are scared of black people because at a root level there is anxiety about karmic justice, that as Brother Malcolm suggested, the proverbial chickens could potentially come home to roost?

Most white folks are good and decent. A notable few have been allies to people of color in our struggle to make America a more fair and inclusive country for all of its citizens. But in total, white Americans have demonstrated quite a bit of naivete and innocence about matters of race. For example, at the height of the Civil Rights Movement public opinion data suggested that most white Americans believed that black people were treated equally and fairly in America. In their eyes, there was apparently no "race problem." Decades later those numbers are little changed.

This is not necessarily a function of malice or bias. It is simply the privileged and cultivated ignorance of life that comes with being on the other side of the color line. Given our special insight, people of color must be patient with our white brothers and sisters on these matters.

In the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin killing, black people need to be especially careful of the feelings, anxieties, and fears of white folks. Many of them appear willing to work with us on this issue; we must be sure not to antagonize them, or ask too many difficult questions.

Because black Americans are the conscience of a nation, we must also ensure that George Zimmerman's rights and liberties are respected. We must always be role models on matters of justice and fairness.

The murder of Trayvon Martin has pushed the national conversation on race one step forward. White folks have been kind enough to share their deepest fears and worries about black men. As a reciprocal act, black men need to acknowledge our profound power as we imagine ourselves from the point of view offered by the white gaze.

Dress up. Smile. Grin. Show some teeth. And don't wear a hoodie. If we do these simple things, white folks and their anxieties will be soothed. Black people, and black men in particular, are privileged and blessed. We are the most envied and imitated people in the world. With this privilege comes a special burden.

Let's acknowledge how we scare and frighten white people. Once we take this step it will be possible to move forward as a country, and all of us can find peace in the aftermath of Trayvon Martin's murder.

33 comments:

I remember the "black magic" at work when I was in high school in a mostly white community. The fastest sprinter on our track team was a white guy, but he could never run as fast as the black guys on the other team. It wasn't always that they were faster, sometimes they would just use their giant penises, basketball prowess, and sweet dance moves to actually make him run slower than when he faced all-white competition. Since I'm Puerto Rican, I'm apparently immune to the "black magic" and I'd run more or less the same as any other week.

Please tell me those last paragraphs were facetious. I was with you until the end: why should we go out of our way to make them feel more comfortable? Perhaps I am just young and angry, but why should we have the smallest amount of sympathy for their pathologies, when they don't want to confront them. We weren't put on this Earth to save their souls.

I think we should acknowledge that they frankly aren't fond of us, and create systemic "Black Privilege" in our communities. We know of the discrimination in employment so let's employ ourselves. We know of the police brutality, so lets police ourselves. We can't continue hoping, wishing, and asking them to change for our well-being, because that puts puts our future in their hands.

@Improbable. So you are half-super? Maybe you get some superpowers from your PR roots?

@Johnny. Sadly, Facebook lies all of the time. You are quite a sophisticated thinker. That has already been shown to be photoshopped. And so what if the photo were real. It doesn't change a thing. Bring out the trolls!

@Anon. Go back and read the piece on the Invisible Knapsack of Black Privilege then read this again. I think you will get what was going on. I was going to put pictures in, but I thought that would be too obvious.

Brother, I'm ALL super! I have the power to resist the black magic, AND I can fake Whiteness during the winter months when I'm super-pale from lack of tanning. As long as I don't have to show ID, I can avoid scaring the white people almost entirely... although as a Hispanic, white people are mostly convinced that I can't speak English and that I'm not working hard enough under the table at jobs they would never dream of doing themselves but nevertheless feel have been stolen from them.

We've come a long way since giant negroes roamed the earth. Now all we need to do is learn to dress "properly" and social justice will be complete. I say why not take it a step further and rid ourselves of white T-shirts, crew socks and boxer briefs? Can never be too sure if it will be blue jeans on the scary list next so, we should just go ahead and chuck those too.

George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin after 6'3" athlete Trayvon punched him, jumped him and proceeded to slam Zimmerman's head on a sidewalk.....What would you and I do if we were in the same situation, just let him bash your brains out? Zimmerman only used ONE BULLET (now proven) and the second bullet begging teenager story is FALSE. Yes, it was and is a horrible situation and you cannot replace lost lives, but common people, stop making this a racial freakout and a glossed over media circus. All you will accomplish is to show how totally ignorant and frenzy driven you are. White people, Yellow people, Red people and Black people were not to blame, so STOP THE BLAME and ACCUSATIONS. Gun liberals stop using this as an anti gun platform because all you are doing is driving more voters over to the conservative side.

You are a stomp down man Cnu, what would you do if the neighborhood thug wanna be cop fetishizer ran you down, a person with no authority, save for what white people give him--either in perception or reality? You would comply? You don't strike me as the naturally deferent negro type.

Violating your Constitutional Rights? I for one hope Trayvon popped him in the mouth. We will never know because the only story is that of a highly suspect and unreliable witness who was told to stay away, had an obsession with "black criminals" and likely used a racial slur when chasing someone he had no right to pursue.

Hey CD long time no blog. Unfortunately I have been too busy to indulge but since I do live in Florida and I am an attorney I figured I would out in my two white cents for what it's worth.

I personally have no idea exactly what happened that night but I heard this morning there was a new eyewitness that confirmed alot of what Americanbankster says a few posts above mine. This witness even said it was Zimmerman who screamed on the 911 tape just before the shot, not Trayvon.

I think the Stand Your Ground Law is pretty scary but all I would say right now is that maybe we should wait until all of the facts (or at least some more of them) are in before we start drawing conclusions about what may have motivated Mr. Zimmerman. Frankly, I had no idea that Trayvon was such a large kid and if he did get into a fight with Zimmerman like some of these new witnesses say, and he was on top of Zimmerman on the ground, it would have been self-defense even in the absence of the Stand Your Ground Law. One thing I have learned as a lawyer for the past 20 years is that you should not belive everything you hear, especially the first accounts of anything as emotional as this incident. The truth is almost always somewhere in the middle.

Clearly, you could find thousands of these types of incidents that have occured in our country and many which were much more clearly racially-motivated. I would just caution everyone to be a litle more circumspect before we leap to any conclusions about this one, and before we annoint Trayvon as a completely blameless victim of racism. Just sayin!

I cannot believe what I am reading. I guess it is correct that the new racism is denying racism.

Who in their right mind would believe that a city which is under fire for the complete ineptness or callous indifference to this child's life would not manage to acquire someone willing to confirm this man's version of events? Thereby providing a justification for why they did not perform a complete investigation. Especially considering the history of this department where they had a reluctance to arrest people who commit crimes against blacks. Where was this so called witnesses 911 call that should have been released with the other arbitrary 911 witness calls? Why is he coming out now as opposed to two or three weeks ago?

Listen to those tapes and the screaming stop at the sound of gunshot, not before as it would if somebody realized that they no longer needed help because they were going to shoot the person who I supposedly assaulting them.

Look at the police reports, one was computer stamped as printed immediately after the event (2/28) the second was computer stamped printed several days after (3/6) the day it was faxed. Why the disparity in dates?

Even without the accounts of what happened upon contact. The idea that he selected this child to follow, whether he did it bcause he was black initially, certainly shored up his resolve to not let him get away because "these assholes ALWAYS, get away" and of course tolerant people don't use words like "effing coon". HE DID NOT IN ANY CAPACITY HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO CHASE SOMEONE DOWN AND QUESTION THEM!!!

I'll take the 911 calls that show the intention of the Zimmerman to approach and the desire of this kid to run in order to get away from someone who he is fearful of, over the improbable tales that suggest that this kid who was just minutes ago running, suddenly became the aggressor exempt in an effort to defend himself from some large guy bearing down on him.

And the topper is, I didn't know that our desire to see justice done should be mindful of whether we are going to drive people over to the conservatives! WOW! Really?!

@Sabrina. You beat me to it. Lets say Trayvon defended himself against that brigand. Who gave Zimmerman the right to play cop, harass and follow him, corner him, and then if the tapes are to be believed, Zimmerman was aggressively pursuing a private citizen.

If I were facing a kook like Zimmerman I would not wait for him to attack me, folks in the neighbohood likely knew that Zimmerman also had an obsession with young black people. Why do we expect our lives and safety to be secondary to the ability of others to impose themselves on us?

This whole matter just keeps getting worse and worse. Than are so many assumptions about race, authority and comportment at play here that I do not know where to begin.

CDV, the efforts to criminalize this child who did not set out his home that day to cause anyone harm, in order to do exactly what they are criticizing Sharpton for, politicizing, is alarming.

This IS about gun laws because if not for the license to kill that allowed this man to escape scrutiny there would have at least been an intiatiation of the justice process, whether this man was acquitted or not. And there should be attention drawn to this laws and those that have already been allowed to use this law to get away with killing with themselves being the only remaining witness. It would be interesting to know the demographics.

This IS about race because this man fixated on young black men in his neighborhood as was evidence by the numerous calls he made to 911 and was apparantly peering at Trayvon through those same lenses that make young black men appear suspect.

And yes, I agree, this is about so many more aspects that it is difficult to simply pin them down.

Now there are calls for what they deem to be irrationality, the outcry, to be quelled, to quiet us with disingenuous pleas for reason while using unreasoned arguments.. Doing so discounts the fact that had there not been an outcry no one would have been the wiser that someone was about to get away with murdering a young black child. Doing so, adrowns out Trayvon's voice and allows Zimmerman's 'version' to take the place of truth.

And before it is mentioned yes, we know that young black kids are killing each other and yes our hearts brak because of it but, should that mean that we are not supposed to be outraged when someone kills our kids?

You are a stomp down man Cnu, what would you do if the neighborhood thug wanna be cop fetishizer ran you down, a person with no authority, save for what white people give him--either in perception or reality? You would comply? You don't strike me as the naturally deferent negro type.

lol, CDV - lifelong negros with guns deport themselves very differently than negroes who read about negros with guns..., if for no other reason than that emotionality is both the mind and the people killer.

Even if the 140 lb kid did punch 250 lb Zimmerman, the Stand Your Ground sword cuts 2 ways. After all, Zim initiated the confrontation:(http://agonist.org/actor_212/20120327/false_equivalence) ...the claim that Martin turned around and beat upon Zimmerman-- keep in mind that Martin weighed only 140 pounds, while Zimmerman is a beast of 250-- is only going to feed the impression that Trayvon felt his own life was in danger and rather than running, he turned and decided to "Stand Your Ground," which is precisely what that law allows for: the use of force, even deadly force, if one feels one is in harm's way or in mortal danger. After all, who picks a fight with someone twice as big as he is unless he feels its the only way to safety?And that is the only conclusion that can legally be drawn from Zimmerman's own words and the 911 call tapes.See, the "Stand Your Ground" law is very specific: it doesn't matter what the intent of the apparent attacker is, what matters is the intent perceived by the defendant. In fact, the law is so loosely drawn that the authorities are not permitted to even question that perception the moment the defendant claims he acted out of fear for his safety.Zimmerman had followed Martin for quite a while if the 911 tapes are accurate, long enough that the dispatcher asked him to stop following Martin.If someone twice my size started following me down a street, I know I would feel threatened, and while my first instinct would be to run away, under Florida law, Martin was not required to: he merely had to turn and use deadly force against Zimmerman.So under Florida law, it is Zimmerman who is guilty of assault, and it is Zimmerman who rightly should be lying dead from the use of deadly force under "Stand Your Ground." Martin was not armed, however, so Zimmerman should thank his lucky stars he'll live to see trial.

I too have been around Rednecks. It works like this: if they know you, they're polite and friendly. If they don't know you, they're suspicious and afraid. In other words, we're like dogs to them: family pets or dangerous strays.

So you, having walked into a Redneck gun rally, have proven yourself a family pet. No one aside from a "Good Darkie" would go to such a place, so of course they gave you no trouble. But, what if we other Darkies started our own gun rallies without Redneck/NRA "supervision"? What would happen if Black gun ownership were to increase, as the blogger says it should? Why, your lovable Rednecks would take it as a declaration of war. And that's really why most non-criminal Blacks don't own guns. If individuals are killed by police and vigilantes for magically transforming skittles and wallets into deadly weapons, we'd be destroyed if we actually went about arming ourselves with actual weapons.

But, what if we other Darkies started our own gun rallies without Redneck/NRA "supervision"?

rotflmbao..., air and opportunity.

but as we both know, feminized jiggaboo, since you specialize in little more than rolling your neck and whooping your gums - that hypothetical will NEVER be put to the test - will it?

Growing up when stuff was really scary, BPP, NOI, and other politically radicalized dignitaries made regular procession through my father's house. We WERE the gun rally for a big swath of the black U.S. - and I bet your pansy-assed peeps were scurred and hiding back then too!

You presume much. I too believe that we should own guns. In fact, lets call it the Negro Gun Club. Hell, I believe we should own the whole damn country.

Though the BPP and NOI prove my point. Both organizations were dismantled and weakened by US counter intelligence. So the solution isn't simply owning guns (though we should) and fighting them in the streets, the solution is to fuck them over with economic dominance.

So no, I've no problem with your zeal for Black gun ownership. I have a problem with you taking your son to a Redneck gun rally, and being cordial with "Yes ma'am" and "Yes sir". That's cowardly, and I cannot fathom someone from the BPP and the NOI doing such a thing.

I have a problem with you taking your son to a Redneck gun rally, and being cordial with "Yes ma'am" and "Yes sir".

lol, the only problem you have is that you're a reactionary, emotional, low-information, and highly feminized jiggaboo.

When I hop on the bus in the morning, the first thing out of my mouth is "Good Morning" and when I hop back off again, "Thank you ma'am" or "Thank you sir" - "You have a good day".

Bus drivers wait for me, spot me fare, and do me favors, all on the strength of a smile and a little courtesy.

Back to the subject at hand, gun shows are commercial productions for the public at large. You're more than welcome to attend any gun show you see fit to attend.

Had you anything remotely approaching a clue, you'd know that the primary beneficiaries of gun shows are the attendees who buy, sell, and trade with one another under the rubric of the gunshow loophole. (google it)

Now, if you're really naive and ignorant enough to believe you would be anything less than highly courteous in an assemblage of heavily armed men and women, and that it's cowardly to meet extreme politeness with extreme politeness, then you obviously have no inkling of the history and origins of courtesy, courtly behavior and the authentic origins of manners.

By your reckoning, samurai were all cowards, what with their circumspect and highly formalized manners and all..., it's exactly that type of degenerate and emotionally reactionary baby-boy isht what get's young ninjas needlessly shot to death in the street, and you know what, good riddance!

Then tell me, why haven't you simply created or joined a gun show with mostly Black attendants, in honor of your father's legacy at the very least? I'm sure they exist, and if they don't you could always organize them. I don't see why you, or I, or any Black person should have to engage a predominately White and insidiously racist environment when we can simply strike out on our own.

I mean really, who's the frightened one here? You who purposefully enters a White environment and ride the coat-tails of White gun subculture with smiles and courtesy, or I who desire more Black environments with the same level of courtesy. And in that light, are you really one to call me feminized? A feminized Black Man is intentionally, or subconsciously, a non-threat to White hegemony (and gay, apparently, but that describes neither of us). And what is more compliant with White hegemony than taking your son to a mostly White gun show that revolves around a mostly White subculture?

Conflating our right to gun ownership with White gun subculture is a recipe for disaster. We can't empower ourselves through involvement in a movement or subculture that we did not create and have little, if any, influence therein. If your son were gunned down by police while carrying the gun he legally owned and concealed, David Keene and the NRA wouldn't say a word in his defense. They'll say "he had a gun, the cops were endangered" and pat them on the back for a job well done (God forbid your son use his gun to defend himself). And if that were to happen, wouldn't justice be easier to achieve if there were a Black gun organization to defend you and your son's right to own and carry? Don't you see that it's in our best interest as Black people to organize around gun ownership independently of Whites, or does someone always have to die first?

A Reactionary is someone who desires to return to a previous state (Status quo ante). That's the exact opposite of what I am.

Tips and Support Are Always Welcome

Who is Chauncey DeVega?

I have been a guest on the BBC, National Public Radio, Ring of Fire Radio, Ed Schultz, Sirius XM's Make it Plain, Joshua Holland's Alternet Radio Hour, the Thom Hartmann radio show, the Burt Cohen show, and Our Common Ground.

I have also been interviewed on the RT Network and Free Speech TV.

I am a contributing writer for Salon and Alternet.

My writing has also been featured by Newsweek, The New York Daily News, The Huffington Post, and the Daily Kos.

My work has also been referenced by MSNBC, the Associated Press, Chicago Sun-Times, The Washington Spectator, Media Matters, The Gothamist, Fader, XOJane, The National Memo, The Root, Detroit Free Press, San Diego Free Press, the Global Post, as well as online magazines and publications such as The Atlantic, Slate, The Week, The New Republic, Buzzfeed, Counterpunch, Truth-Out, Pacific Standard, Common Dreams, The Daily Beast, The Washington Times, The Nation, RogerEbert.com, Ebony, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Fox News, Breitbart, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Juan Williams, Herman Cain, Alex Jones, World Net Daily, Twitchy, the Free Republic, the National Review, NewsBusters, the Media Research Council, Project 21, and Weasel Zippers have made it known that they do not like me very much.